joeyb

July 12th, 2010 at 12:28 PM ^

Rittenberg is one of the only reporters that give Michigan a fair shake. He might not always be as up-to-date as MGoBlog, but he does a pretty good job of getting details, he reads MGoBlog, and he's not afraid to correct himself when someone points out an error.

Transatlantic Flight

July 12th, 2010 at 12:54 PM ^

After his lists of the Big Ten's Top 25 Players, both post-2009 (Brandon Graham number 1) and pre-2010 (Terrelle Pryor at 7) have actually given me reason to respect him. He seems candid and honest in his analysis generally and doesn't write to shock and awe like so many others do.

Sven_Da_M

July 12th, 2010 at 12:30 PM ^

Mailing it in...

But to be considered the state's elite program, Michigan can't keep losing to the Spartans. Rodriguez needs to win this fall to keep his job, and this is the type of game that can build some much-needed goodwill from the Michigan brass. He doesn't want to be the first coach to drop consecutive home games to Michigan State since Bump Elliott in 1965 and 1967. Michigan's small senior class doesn't want to finish with a losing record against the Spartans. 

Slow news day at ESPN, need to create inventory to stoke pageviews and move ads.

bronxblue

July 12th, 2010 at 12:44 PM ^

One takeway from the article does seem to be the difference in recruiting focus between the programs - UM recruits nationally, while MSU is all about "locking down the state."  I know that Dantonio has certainly gone after other talent, but until he does it successfully that will remain the key difference between UM and MSU on the recruiting trail:  MSU needs to take care of the home state, while UM can pick and choose who to go after because they'll still nab top kids from the rest of the Midwest/CA/AZ/South.

jmblue

July 12th, 2010 at 1:42 PM ^

We are scraping the bottom of the barrel for information when even the OP, who found the link, says it's "not really that interesting."

Tater

July 12th, 2010 at 2:49 PM ^

...but I might add that of all the nationally-based MSM reporters, Rittenberg usually combines the most info with the least histrionics.  I don't always agree with what he writes, but his opinion is always well-thought-out and reasonable.  I don't think one can really expect much more from a writer.